home
by Tune4Toons
Summary: A study in innocence, leave it to bleed. — For Legend's and Echo's Inevitable Contest.
1. ঞ

Tune4Toons: Just to disclaim, don't expect your usual fanfic here.

Special thanks to Cam for getting me off my lazy arse for an actual shot at an entry that _doesn't_ burst through the _Inevitable Contest_'s word limit haha. (_Under My Over_ is still ongoing though, no worries.) And also, thanks a lot *insert sarcastic tone here, cue rolled eyes and hand on hip* for taking my entire concept and making it into _The Everybody Talks Challenge_. :P Haha it's alright, I'm not holding it against you. Instead, I'll take that challenge!

Everything here is purely experimental (and it drove me insane just from writing it), so let's see how that goes. As for the characters, feel free to take a guess at who they are :D This is my new entry to the _Echo's & Legend's Inevitable Contest_ as well as my response to the _Everybody Talks Challenge_ on the forum _Reviews Lounge, Too._

Welcome to home, a study in innocence. Enjoy~

* * *

ǝɯoɥ

ঞ

˙ǝɯoɥ ǝq ll,ǝɥS ˙ǝɯoɥ ǝq ll,ǝɥS ˙ǝɯoɥ ǝq ll,ǝɥS

I wanna see her. I wanna see Mama. Where is she? Where's Mama? Strangers took her away. There were so many of them. Why did they take her? Where is she? Mama, my mommy.

_Calm down. It's okay. I'm not here to hurt you._

Where's Mama? Where's my mommy? Where's my mommy? Where is she?

_Please calm down. Your mom wanted me to come get you._

You're lying. I don't know you. Mama doesn't know you. And Mama's coming home soon! Mama's gonna come home soon! Get away from me. Help! Help! Someone help me! Lemme go!  
Please don't hurt me!  
Please please please please please.  
Please don't...

...

* * *

_Again, I'm not going to hurt you.  
__I just want to talk._

...

Where's Mama?

_She's sleeping_.

She's sleeping? But she was sleeping earlier. She can't still be tired; I didn't even take my nap yet.

_Yes, she's very tired. She told me her head hurts and to tell you not to worry._

How come? Are you her friend? You said you knew her. She didn't tell me someone was coming over. She usually makes pie when someone was, but I think we might have some leftovers from last time in our fridge.  
Peach cobbler. It's my favourite. Her favourite too.

_Last time? Who else came here?_

Mama said I'm not supposed to talk about it.

_Do you care about your mom?_

Of course, very much.  
˙os ɥɔnɯ ʎɹǝʌ

_So tell me, what happened yesterday before your mom was taken to the ambulance?_

Ambulance? To the hospital? Is that where she's sleeping? Can I see her? Can I?

_Not yet. What happened yesterday? Tell me._

Why?

_So I can catch the bad guy that did bad things to your mom._

Are you one of the good guys?

_You could say that. Do you think I'm lying?_

No, mister. If you are a good guy, you're going to lock him up, right? Don't tell Mama I told you, okay? She won't like it if she knows.

It was a stranger that came yesterday. He's been here before; Mama sometimes brings him over. She would always go somewhere else with him, and she always told me not to tell anyone. I usually go to my room to colour, and when she came back, she would have these purple spots on her arms. I'd ask her if she was okay, and she would say that she was fine every time and that I should go to my room. So I do. Then I show her a drawings I make.  
Then she'd say they were pretty before she starts crying sometimes. I thought she was sad, but she told me it was happy tears.

Make sure you don't tell Mama I told you.

_I won't. Can you describe what the stranger looks like?_

He's tall, wears grey, has a headband, funny beard. Looks old and scary. He never smiles. I don't know how Mama knows him or why she even likes him. She's always super tired when she comes home after seeing him. She doesn't play with me anymore.

Oh, he carries a lot of stuff! Mama had to keep telling him to hide his things so I wouldn't see them. He has a lot of toys. Maybe she didn't want him to share with me.

_So what happened yesterday?_

Well, Mama came home with that stranger again, so I was here colouring a picture of a dream I had. It was a really weird dream. Someone was talking to me, asking me if I loved my mommy. I do, I said. He looked weird, but he was nice.

_What about your mom? What happened to her?_

Oh yeah, she was yelling at the man because of something bad he did that she didn't like. The man laughed at her. He was so mean. Loud, too. So Mama told me to go to her room to colour while she was talking with him.

_Were you scared?_

He was yelling at her. He was yelling at Mama. I want to see Mama. Where did those guys take her?

_Into an ambulance._

So she's at the hospital? I want to see her! I want to see her! I want to see Mama!

_Look, I need you to cooperate if you want to see your mom. You need to calm down._

No, now! Please, I want to see her now. Please please please please please!  
Those strangers took her away! They took her away!

_Listen to me for a second—_

Don't leave me alone! Mama! Mama!

…

Mama, please… Don't take her away…  
…ǝuolɐ ǝq oʇ ʇuɐʍ ʇ,uop I  
Please…


	2. ঞঞ

_How about we try this again? I only want to talk. No one's going to hurt you. I'm going to make sure of that. And I'll even take you to your mom later._

…Really? Do you mean it?

_Sure._

Promise?

_Promise_.

…

ঞঞ

A smile is a mask that's supposed to make everything feel better.

That's what Mama would say to me anyway, but I don't understand what she means by that. She still smiles whenever she sees someone else doing it. Makes her happy, she tells me, so if I'm sad, she's sad too. So I make sure to smile everyday. Like yesterday, like today, like tomorrow. She wants me to be smiling, which I do, but it gets tiring to have to do it all the time.

But I do it anyway since it makes her happy. And that makes me happy.

_A lot of parents want their kids to be happy_.

She told me there are a lot of bad parents out there. She didn't want to become a bad mommy. Once, she bought me a box of pencil crayons and paper so that I can draw and colour pictures. I'm really good at drawing. She always hangs them up on the wall when I'm done.

She also tells me she wants to keep me safe. She knows what's best for me. Don't fight, don't swear, don't talk to strangers… I've never gone out of the house at night before either; it's supposed to be scary out there, outside. Even if it looks pretty from the window, it's a bad, bad place. A lot of strangers out there. Mama says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers.

_Am I still a stranger?_

Yes.

_Will you still talk to me?_

Yes.

_How come?_

Anyone I don't know who wears a blue uniform is supposed to be one of the good guys. You do wear blue, but I thought you were going to take Mama away like those other strangers did. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. Blue ones like you are good, but other strangers are bad. But the good guys always catch the bad guys, so it's okay.

The man I told you about that Mama brought home was a bad guy. Why hasn't anyone caught him yet?

_That's what we're trying to do. Did you like that man?_

No. He was scary and his beard was funny, but she said he made her happy. It wasn't that big and scruffy like Santa's beard. Santa makes everyone happy. He brings gifts to good kids and coal to the bad kids.

I get a lot of presents from Santa and Mama, so that makes me a good boy, right? Everyone likes good boys. Good boys don't make their Mama sad. But Mama didn't look very happy anymore. Sad. She smiles, but she still looks sad. She tries to hide it to make me happy, but I'm not happy when I see Mama like that.

Does that make me a bad boy? I don't want to be a bad boy. No one likes bad boys.

_No, you aren't. You sound like a good little boy. Don't worry. Do you know why your Mama was sad?_

I don't know why. I bet that stranger she knew did something. Strangers are bad, you know.

_Yes, I know. I'm glad I'm not a stranger._

No. I think she'll like you. You're nice. You told me Mama was okay.

_Your mom told me to tell you not to worry. It'll be fine, all right?_

See? You are nice! Not a lot of people do things for Mama. She always smiles when I make something nice for her, but not for anyone else. That's what she'd tell me, anyway. I like it when she hugs me and says thank you. Then she would say that I'm the best kid in the world.

It makes me happy when she says that. That means she likes me. Makes me feel special.  
But she said that stranger made her feel special too. I can tell she's lying though; she always looks sad when she says it.

_Does your mom lie often?_

No. She never lies to me.

_But you just said she_—

Mama never lies. It was only when that stranger came that she started lying. I don't like it when she lies. She always tells me that lying is bad. If lying is bad, does that make her bad too? She doesn't want to be a bad mommy. I don't want her to be either. Nobody likes bad people.

…I'm tired. Where's Mama?

_She's sleeping where those strangers from yesterday took her._

When will you take me there? I want to see her. When can I see her? I really want to see her.

_Soon. Very soon, don't worry. But there's somewhere I'd like to take you today if that's all right with you. Your mom said it was okay to take you, but only if you want to._

Okay, where are we going?

_To your new home._

Is it near the hospital where Mama is?

_Sure… You could say that._


	3. ঞঞঞ

So many kids. I don't like that place. They were mean to me, all the big kids. The girls looked at me funny too. No one would share with me. They keep making fun of me.  
˙ǝɯoɥ ʍǝu ʎɯ ǝq oʇ ʇɐɥʇ ʇuɐʍ ʇ,uop I  
What kind of place is that?

_It's an orphanage. A lot of kids live there if they have parents who are sleeping. _

I don't like it. Do I have to live there?

_Yes. That's where your mom needs you to be in from now on._

But she told me she never wanted me to be in an orphanage because she's there to take care of me.

_But she can't now. _

_How about we go see your mom?_

Really? Do you mean it?  
Let's go, let's go!

* * *

…

This isn't a hospital. Where are we? Why are we here?

_That's where the ambulance took your mom. This is a special place; this is where people sleep._

So Mama's still sleeping.

_That's right._

Do old people always sleep for this long? My naps are never that long, not even when I sleep. When she wakes up, I want to show her what I made.

_You mean what you got there? What is it?_

It's the picture I told you about, my dream. Look, see? Do you like it? Do you like it?

_Who's that? The boy in the picture. Is that you?_

Of course not. He has big, white wings and he wears white too. He's a fairy.

_An angel, you mean. That's an angel. Being able to fly sounds fun, doesn't it?_

Why would I do that when there's no one else to fly with? But if I do grow wings one day, I'm going to take Mama with me. She'll like that.

_I bet she will._

An angel, is that what they're called? He was talking to me in my dream, last night too. He told me that I don't need to worry about Mama anymore, that she'll be happy now where she is, where no one will hurt her anymore.

I asked him what he meant by that, but he didn't answer me. All he said was that she'll miss me. But why would she miss me if she's gonna see me when she gets home? He was weird. He looks like he's a little older than me, but still! He didn't explain anything! Guess old people can be weird sometimes.

Hey mister, what's that by your pocket?

_By my pocket? It's my gun_. _It's a dangerous weapon, not for playing._

Mama keeps one in her drawers too. She told me to make sure not to touch it unless any bad guys try to hurt me. That's what Mama uses it for too. Just point, then pull the thingy, and they can't hurt you because they'll fall asleep if you point at the right place. Then bang, they get hit with a paint ball.

_Is that what she told you?_

Yup.

_I see. These "paintballs" do hurt a lot, so be sure to stay away from them._

You're a lot like Mama sometimes.

_How so?_

Both of you tell me things in a certain kind of way.

…

ঞঞঞ

_All right, this man here is the coroner. He's going to take you to where your mom is._

He looks fat and scary. And his moustache is funny too.

_It's okay. He's not going to hurt you. He works here_.

And why is Mama sleeping in a box? Don't they have beds? Boxes don't sound very comfortable. She gets a pillow and a blanket though, right?

_Yes, she does. When we find your mom's box, he's going to open up it up, and I need you to tell him if that really is your mom sleeping in there just in case it isn't._

Okay.

* * *

_Is that her?_

…Yeah. Mama's…sleeping, isn't she? She looks really pretty in that dress.

_The coroner fixed her up in pink so that she'll look nice. You look a lot like her, you know. You have her blonde hair, her cheerful face_—_not her eyes though, probably from your father._

A lot of people say that. I don't know who my Papa is, though. She told me he disappeared, and no one knows what happened to him. I hope I can meet him someday.

…

_So do you know what happened to your mom yesterday? You still haven't told me yet_.

Yesterday?

_Yes, when that stranger came over. What did you hear? What did you see?_

I don't know. He was yelling at her. I went to Mama's room and stayed there to draw. They were yelling. Both of them were yelling. Very loudly. The strangers outside could probably hear them too. He called her many mean names, and she started crying and screaming. He was making Mama upset. I snuck a peek at them from the door; I wasn't supposed to. Mama told me to stay in there. I couldn't help it.

The door squeaked, and Mama saw me. She looked so scared. Then the man pulled out a gun, then BANG! It was so loud. It hit her; it hit her head. She didn't move, and then there was red stuff all over the floor… It was my fault he hit her.  
Mama didn't look like Mama anymore…

_And now she's sleeping.  
_Mhm.  
_Since she was shot with a paintball.  
_Mhm…_  
_

_She wouldn't want you to feel guilty. You're a big boy now. I'm sure you'll see her awake someday, like what that angel in your picture said_.

…

Thank you for being nice to me today.

_No problem. Anytime_.

* * *

…

Can I ask you something?

_Sure. What is it?_

Why does everyone always lie to me?

…

ঞঞঞ

ঞঞ

ঞ

_…_

_fin_.


End file.
